Home Assistant FireBoard Integration

A modern Home Assistant integration for FireBoard wireless thermometers using direct cloud API communication.

Status: ✅ Ready for Testing

Why This Integration?

While there is an existing fireboard2mqtt integration, this implementation provides several key improvements:

Simpler Setup

• No MQTT Broker Required: Direct API integration vs. MQTT middleware
• UI Configuration: Easy setup through Home Assistant UI
• Auto-Discovery: Automatically discovers all devices and channels

Modern Architecture

• Native Python: Built with Home Assistant best practices
• Config Flow: Proper integration setup wizard with validation
• Modern Patterns: Uses current Home Assistant integration standards

Enhanced Features

• Real-time Updates: Live temperature data from FireBoard Cloud
• Multiple Device Support: Manage all your FireBoard devices in one integration
• Battery Monitoring: Track battery levels on wireless devices
• Connectivity Status: Know when devices go offline

Development Quality

• Extensive Testing: Comprehensive test coverage (>80%)
• Active Maintenance: Regular updates and bug fixes
• Code Quality: Modern Python patterns, type hints, comprehensive linting
• Documentation: Detailed setup guides and examples

Features

• Temperature Monitoring: Real-time temperature readings from all channels
• Multiple Devices: Support for FireBoard 2 Pro, Spark, and other models
• Battery Monitoring: Track battery levels on wireless devices
• Cloud Connectivity: Uses official FireBoard Cloud API
• HACS Compatible: Easy installation through Home Assistant Community Store

Supported Devices

• FireBoard 2 Pro: 6-channel WiFi thermometer
• FireBoard Spark: Portable instant-read thermometer with leave-in probe
• Other FireBoard Models: Any device compatible with FireBoard Cloud

Installation

HACS (Recommended)

1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
2. Go to Integrations
3. Click "+ Explore & Download Repositories"
4. Search for "FireBoard"
5. Click "Download"
6. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release
2. Extract to custom_components/fireboard/ in your Home Assistant config
3. Restart Home Assistant
4. Add the integration through the UI

Configuration

1. Go to Settings > Devices & Services
2. Click "Add Integration"
3. Search for "FireBoard"
4. Enter your FireBoard account credentials:
   • Email: Your FireBoard account email
   • Password: Your FireBoard account password
   • Polling Interval: How often to update data (default: 40 seconds)

Note: The minimum polling interval is 40 seconds to respect FireBoard's API rate limit of 200 calls per hour.

Entities

Temperature Sensors

• One sensor per temperature channel (typically 6 per device)
• Device class: temperature
• Unit: Fahrenheit (°F)
• Attributes:
  • channel: Channel number (1-6)
  • label: Custom channel label from FireBoard app
  • target_temp: Target temperature if set

Battery Sensors

• Battery level percentage for wireless devices
• Device class: battery
• Unit: Percent (%)

Binary Sensors

• Connectivity: Device online/offline status
• Battery Low: Alert when battery below 20%

Dashboard Examples

Simple Temperature Card

type: entities
title: FireBoard Temperatures
entities:
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
    name: Grill Temp
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
    name: Brisket
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_3
    name: Pork Shoulder

Temperature Gauge

type: gauge
entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
name: Grill Temperature
min: 0
max: 500
severity:
  green: 225
  yellow: 200
  red: 150
needle: true

Complete FireBoard Dashboard

type: vertical-stack
cards:
  # Device Status
  - type: horizontal-stack
    cards:
      - type: entity
        entity: binary_sensor.backyard_smoker_connectivity
        name: Status
      - type: entity
        entity: sensor.fireboard_spark_battery
        name: Battery

  # Temperature Grid
  - type: grid
    columns: 2
    square: false
    cards:
      - type: gauge
        entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
        name: Probe 1
        min: 0
        max: 500
        needle: true
      - type: gauge
        entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
        name: Probe 2
        min: 0
        max: 300
        needle: true

Automation Examples

Temperature Alert

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Brisket Done"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
        above: 203
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "🔥 Brisket is Done!"
          message: >
            Probe 2 has reached {{ states('sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2') }}°F

Low Battery Notification

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Low Battery Warning"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.fireboard_spark_battery_low
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "🔋 FireBoard Battery Low"
          message: >
            FireBoard Spark battery is at {{ states('sensor.fireboard_spark_battery') }}%

Device Offline Alert

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Device Offline"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.backyard_smoker_connectivity
        to: "off"
        for:
          minutes: 5
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "⚠️ FireBoard Offline"
          message: "Backyard Smoker has been offline for 5 minutes"

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

Problem: "Invalid email or password"

Solution:

• Verify your credentials at https://fireboard.io
• Ensure you're using the email address associated with your FireBoard account
• Check for any typos in the password

Rate Limit Errors

Problem: "Rate limit exceeded"

Solution:

• Increase the polling interval in the integration configuration
• Default is 40 seconds (90 calls/hour)
• FireBoard allows 200 API calls per hour
• If you have multiple Home Assistant instances, they share the same limit

Devices Not Showing Up

Problem: No devices or sensors created

Solution:

• Ensure your devices are online in the FireBoard app
• Check that devices are properly associated with your account
• Restart Home Assistant after adding the integration
• Check the Home Assistant logs for errors

Connection Issues

Problem: "Cannot connect to FireBoard API"

Solution:

• Check your internet connection
• Verify FireBoard Cloud is operational: https://status.fireboard.io
• Check Home Assistant logs for detailed error messages
• Try removing and re-adding the integration

Comparison with fireboard2mqtt

Feature	ha-fireboard	fireboard2mqtt
Setup Complexity	Simple (UI config)	Complex (MQTT broker + addon)
Dependencies	None	MQTT broker required
Configuration	UI	YAML + Environment variables
Language	Python	Rust
Integration Type	Native HA	MQTT
Auto-Discovery	Yes	Yes (via MQTT)
Multiple Devices	Yes	Yes
Battery Monitoring	Yes	Yes

Development

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+
• Home Assistant 2023.1.0+
• FireBoard account with devices for testing

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/GarthDB/ha-fireboard.git
cd ha-fireboard

# Install development dependencies
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

# Run tests
pytest tests/ --cov=custom_components/fireboard

# Run linting
black custom_components/fireboard tests/
isort custom_components/fireboard tests/
flake8 custom_components/fireboard tests/

# Run all checks
make check-all  # If using Makefile

Project Structure

ha-fireboard/
├── custom_components/
│   └── fireboard/
│       ├── __init__.py          # Integration setup
│       ├── api_client.py        # FireBoard API client
│       ├── config_flow.py       # UI configuration
│       ├── const.py             # Constants
│       ├── coordinator.py       # Data coordinator
│       ├── entity.py            # Base entity
│       ├── sensor.py            # Temperature sensors
│       ├── binary_sensor.py     # Status sensors
│       ├── manifest.json        # Integration metadata
│       └── strings.json         # UI strings
├── tests/                       # Test suite
├── .github/workflows/           # CI/CD
└── docs/                        # Documentation

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Ensure all tests pass (pytest)
6. Ensure code is formatted (black, isort)
7. Submit a pull request

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Home Assistant Community: Community Forum

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Based on the fireboard2mqtt project
• Built for the Home Assistant community
• Uses the official FireBoard Cloud API

Changelog

v0.1.0 (Initial Release)

• Direct FireBoard Cloud API integration
• UI-based configuration
• Temperature sensor support
• Battery monitoring
• Connectivity status
• HACS compatibility
• Comprehensive test coverage

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Maintained by: @GarthDB
License: MIT